Creating a cartoon can be a long and complicated process, but if your desire is strong enough to see your story rendered in animation, the final result can be well worth the effort. If you want to make your own cartoon, here's what you need to do.
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Method 1 of 5: Finding Inspiration
Step 1. Consider your resources
Your budget may be limited, but chances are, your imagination and talent are not. When looking for new ideas for cartoons, keep in mind how much you can afford in the process and what your artistic skills can afford.
- If you're a beginner, you might want to avoid stories and themes that require complex animation scenes, such as large battles or complicated machines. Your animation skills may need to be honed and practiced before you are ready to work on such a large project.
- Also remember that you will need more equipment depending on the complexity of your cartoon. A claymation cartoon with two dozen characters and four sets will require more equipment than a cell animation with just one scene. If budget is an issue, make sure to keep it short and simple.
Step 2. Think long
The length of the space for your cartoon will vary based on the market in which you want to distribute it. Knowing the length from the start will help you think of enough stories in that time.
- If you want to create a cartoon that can develop into a long-term show, your cartoon needs to be 11 minutes or 20-25 minutes long.
- Cartoons can be 60-120 minutes long.
- If a one-off cartoon made for the internet is what you want to make, you can make a short film of between 1-5 minutes. Making anything longer can turn people away from watching it.
Step 3. Know your internet audience
While cartoons were originally aimed at children, there are many cartoons created for teens and adults alike. The age and demographics of the audience should shape the ideas you have in mind.
For example, cartoons about something tragic, such as the death of a loved one, are better for older audiences. If your target audience is a younger audience, you are better off choosing a topic that is simpler to understand and more concrete
Step 4. Work from your experience
Another way of saying this is, “write down what you know.” Many storytellers write based on events, feelings, or relationships they experienced in their own lives. Make a list of life events you've been through and the idea behind a cartoon.
- If you want to make serious cartoons, think about the life experiences that really shaped you: unrequited love, losing a friend, working hard towards a seemingly impossible goal, etc.
- If you want to come up with something even funnier, take everyday situations like waiting in traffic or waiting for an email and exaggerate the predicament of these situations in funny ways.
- Or, you can use something already cute to make a funny cartoon.
Step 5. Use your imagination
Of course, there are many plots that don't involve life experience. You can use your passions and imagination to come up with new ideas, as long as you include details that help people relate to the characters or story.
Related details include universally appealing hidden themes. For example, most people can relate to coming of age stories, regardless of whether they take place in the real world, in a future outer space setting, or in a fantasy setting of swords and wizards
Step 6. Design a compelling protagonist
Make a list of the character traits you would like to see in the protagonist. Write down the positives as well as the flaws to prevent making a character too perfect.
This is an important step no matter how simple or complex your cartoon is. While the characters in longer, more serious cartoons need more development, short, funny cartoons will need a protagonist with a clear purpose and clear character traits that allow him to react to conflict in his own way
Method 2 of 5: Writing Scripts and Creating Storyboards
Step 1. Write a script if there is a dialogue
If your cartoon character is going to talk, you'll need a voice actor to read these sentences, and your voice actor will need a written script so he or she knows what to say.
You need to know the script before you can animate a cartoon. Mouths move differently for different phonemes, and you need to animate these different mouth movements in a way that looks realistic so that the sounds you add later will match
Step 2. Write a narrative of events
If there's no dialogue in the cartoon, you might be able to skip the script. But you still need to write a narrative of events so you can remember the story and its parts.
Write several drafts before starting the production phase. Write your first draft, put it aside, and come back in a day or two to see how you can make it better and flow more effectively
Step 3. Divide your storyboard into main sections
Short cartoons may consist of only one scene, but if your cartoon is longer, you may need to divide it into more than one scene to make it easier to organize.
Step 4. Sketch each action change
When you're sketching a formal storyboard, any changes to the action should be visible in the storyboard grid. Minor changes should be described, but may not need to be drawn.
- Use basic shapes, stick figures, and simple backgrounds. The storyboard should be pretty basic.
- Consider drawing your storyboard frames on index cards so you can organize them and move parts of the story as needed.
- You can also make notes of what happened in each frame to make it easier to remember later.
Method 3 of 5: Creating Animations
Step 1. Get to know the different types of animation
Generally, most forms of animation will fall under the categories of cell animation, stop motion animation, 2D computer animation, and 3D computer animation.
Step 2. Try cell animation
Cell animation is the traditional method of creating cartoons. You will need to hand-draw each cell or animation sheet and take a photo of that cell with a special camera.
- Cell animation uses a principle similar to how a flipbook works. A series of images is created, and each image differs slightly from the next. When displayed in quick order, the difference creates the illusion of movement.
- Each image drawn and colored on a transparent sheet is called a “sell.”
- Use your camera to take a photo of this image and edit it using animation editing software.
Step 3. Use the stop motion technique
Stop motion is a traditional form of animation as well, but is used less than cell animation. “Claymation” is the most common form of stop motion animation, but there are other dolls you can use and make for this cartoon as well.
- You can use shadow puppets, sand art, paper dolls, or anything that can be moved into multiple positions.
- Each movement should be small. Take a photo of each move after making it.
- Edit photos together so that they appear in quick order. When viewed in this way, the eye will see movement.
Step 4. Consider 2D computer animation
You will need a special computer program for this type of animation, and the product will look like a more refined version of a cell-animated cartoon.
- Each 2D computer animation program will work differently, so you'll need to look for tutorials for the specific program you're going to use to learn how to use it.
- A common example of 2D animation is any cartoon created using Adobe Flash.
Step 5. Create animations in 3D using a computer
Just like 2D animation, you will need special software to generate 3D animated cartoons, too.
- In a sense, 3D computer animation is similar to stop motion animation, but the graphics can range from very blocky to very real.
- Just like 2D computer animation, each animation software works a little differently from the others. Examples include Maya and 3D Studio Max.
Method 4 of 5: Sound Effects
Step 1. Get the right equipment
You'll need a good microphone and a way to prevent echoes or background noise from getting into the sound you want to use.
- A high-quality computer microphone will work quite effectively for beginner cartoons, but if you intend to trade and distribute your cartoons, you'll need to purchase more professional equipment later.
- When working with small microphones, cover them with a speaker tube case lined with foam to eliminate echo and excessive background noise.
Step 2. Record your own sound effects
Get creative and look for simple, everyday ways to make sounds similar to the sounds you need for your cartoons.
- Make a list of the sound effects you will need. Be creative and meticulous, including everything from the obvious (explosion, alarm clock) to the subtle (footsteps, background noise).
- Record different versions of each sound so you have more options to work with.
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Some examples of sounds you can create include:
- Fire – Manipulation of a piece of rigid glass paper
- Slap – Clap your hands once
- Thundering thunder – Shake a piece of plexiglass or thick cardboard
- Boiling water – Blow air into a glass of water using a straw
- Baseball bat hitting the ball – Break the match
Step 3. Look for the recorded sound effects
If you don't have access to the equipment or can't make one yourself, there are CD-ROMs and websites that offer free voice presses that you can use as you wish, and these may be a better choice for you.
Always review the usage permissions for the sound effect recordings you use. If something is free to download, it may not be free to use, especially for commercial purposes. It's important you know what's allowed before using sound for your cartoon
Step 4. Record real sound if necessary
If your cartoon contains dialogue, you or someone else you know needs to be the voice that brings your character to life. While you are recording sentences, read from the script using appropriate intonation and expression, and make sure you adjust your mouth to the cartoon mouth animation.
Consider manipulating sound using computer software. If you have fewer voice actors than characters, you can change the voice of any of the characters simply by adjusting the attributes of the voice samples you've collected. You'll need to purchase special sound editing software to do this, but depending on what you're using, you can change and add tones, such as the sound of iron, to the sound recording
Method 5 of 5: Distribution
Step 1. Distribute the cartoon using your own resources
If you have a short one-off cartoon, or if you're trying to make a name for yourself, you can add your cartoon to your digital portfolio and upload a copy on your personal blog, social media account, or video website.
Step 2. Visit a distribution company, animation company, or television station
If you created the first episode for a cartoon at home, you can distribute it through one of the routes. If accepted, you will need to determine your new production schedule for your next cartoon so you can get back to work.
- The distribution company will review your first episode and determine the market. If they decide to represent your cartoon, you will be provided with a distribution plan and income projection. Ask for a formal letter of interest and show a letter to potential investors letting them know that a distributor is willing to represent your cartoon.
- If you go straight to an animation company or television station with the first episode, they may be willing to accept and distribute it right away, especially if they have an empty time slot to fill.
